NEWS CENTER

UTA In The News — Monday, May 7, 2012

Transformative research

The University of Texas at Arlington is investing in transformative research, the Fort Worth Business Press
noted, in a Q&A with Jean-Pierre Bardet, new dean of the College of
Engineering at UT Arlington. Bardet steps in at a critical time for the
University. The school is aggressively pursuing a mission to become a
nationally recognized research university. UT Arlington achieved a
record $63.6 million in research expenditures in the 2009-2010 fiscal
year, and the College of Engineering directly generated about $33
million of that activity.

Graduation Celebration

Inside Higher Ed noted that actor James Franco will speak Friday, May 11 at the University’s Graduation Celebration.

GMA shines spotlight on UTA students

ABC’s Good Morning America invited
glass art students from the UT Arlington Department of Art and Art
History to appear in a segment Friday morning with renowned Seattle
glass artist Dale Chihuly. His work is featured in a new exhibit at the
Dallas Arboretum through Nov. 5. The students assisted the installation
of the glass pieces throughout the Arboretum.

College tuition rates

The University of Texas System board has frozen tuition for in-state
undergraduates at the Austin campus for two years, while the Texas
A&M University System regents approved tuition hikes Friday
afternoon at many of the state’s land-grant universities, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas Tribune, El Paso Times and Texas Watchdog
reported. The UT Board of Regents chose to distribute $ 12 million from
the system’s multibillion-dollar endowment to pay for “student success”
initiatives at the Austin campus. The University of Texas at Arlington
did not ask for a rate increase for 2012, citing enrollment growth and
new revenue sources.

Sun Belt Conference

Yahoo! Sports
reported that while Friday was a big day for a lot of schools,
conference expansion is far from over. If the Sun Belt adds New Mexico
State, it will probably add another team to give it 12 football members
and the opportunity to create divisions and ultimately a conference
championship. Many believe that final team will be UT Arlington, which
doesn't have a football program, but has the means to put one together. KATC-TV (Lafayette, LA) reported a similar story.

Conference questions

The San Antonio Express-News
reported that UT San Antonio will move to Conference USA. Lynn Hickey,
UTSA’s athletic director, said she is open to maintaining relationships
with former Southland Conference rivals UT Arlington and Texas State,
with which UTSA will spend one last year together in the Western
Athletic Conference before parting ways.

Western Athletic Conference

The Deseret News
reported that Utah State University is leaving the Western Athletic
Conference for greener, potentially more lucrative, and most
importantly, more stable pastures in the Mountain West Conference. The
WAC is a shadow of its former self. Only Idaho and New Mexico State are
left as football-playing members. Those two schools will be joined by
Boise State, Seattle, Denver and UT Arlington in other sports, but
various reports indicate all the remaining schools are evaluating their
options.

Weather radar sensor

A new weather radar sensor is going up at the University of North Texas’ Discovery Park, the Denton Record-Chronicle
reported. It is one of four Collaborative Adaptive Sensing of the
Atmosphere (CASA) units being installed in the Dallas-Fort Worth area
through a partnership with the University of Massachusetts Amherst. CASA
sensors also will be installed at The University of Texas at Arlington,
in the Addison area and near Alliance Airport, Dunn said. The exact
sites are still being decided.

Arlington City Council candidates talk UT Arlington

UT Arlington was mentioned twice in a Fort Worth Star-Telegram
article about the race to replace Gene Patrick on the Arlington City
Council. Patrick, who served in the District 8 seat for almost nine
years, stepped down in November for health reasons. Candidate Faith
Chatham said that while there has been a recent influx of restaurants
and shops, the city needs to keep focused on downtown revitalization
efforts and continue collaborating with UT Arlington to spur investment.
Candidate Will Clark would also like to expand after-school programs
for youths, which he said could help lower crime, and promote UT
Arlington as a top choice for high school graduates to “give young
people a reason to want to stay in Arlington.” Early voting ends
Tuesday.

Bobadilla honored

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Work Faces
section reported that the Texas Association of Mexican American
Chambers of Commerce recently honored female business and community
leaders at its first Women of Distinction luncheon. One of the women
recognized for her professional accomplishments and community
contributions was Michele Bobadilla, senior associate vice president for
outreach services and community engagement and assistant provost for
Hispanic student success in the office of the provost at The University
of Texas at Arlington.